Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Rice
Rice Flies Past Fresno State 83-68 in WAC Showdown
1/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2005
HOUSTON - Brock Gillespie scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures as Rice defeated Fresno State 83-68 in a Western Athletic Conference game on Thursday nightMichael Harris had 17 points before leaving in the second half with a leg injury while Jason McKrieth and J.R. Harrison both had 15 as the Owls (10-4, 5-1 WAC) stayed a half-game behind first place Nevada in the conference standings.
Rice hosts Nevada on Saturday in Houston.
Mustafa Al-Sayyad had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs (11-5, 5-2), who played most of the second half with their five starters on the bench.
Harris -- who twice in the second half left the game with an undisclosed leg ailment -- had a dunk to punctuate a 8-0 Rice run to start the second half that helped the Owls open up a 15-point lead. Fresno State then employed an all-freshman lineup that cut the deficit to 52-44 with 12 minutes to play, but an 8-2 run put Rice ahead just two minutes later.
The Owls maintained a double-digit lead the remainder of the game.
Fresno State's leading scorer, Ja'Vance Coleman, played only two minutes in the second half and finished with just eight points. He had scored in double figures in each of the Bulldogs' first 15 games.
Also seeing very little time in the second half for Fresno State were starters Dreike Bouldin and Donovan Morris.
Rice led 30-19 midway through the first half before the Bulldogs trimmed it to three with just 2:28 remaining. Rice eventually led 41-34 at the break. Gillespie was 6-of-6, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, in the opening stanza.
Chris Berry came off the bench to score 13 points and grab six rebounds for Fresno State.
